


Baby Honey

by auto_allthetime



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, Alternate Universe, Angst, Betrayal, Bottom Harry, Enemies to Lovers, Flashbacks, Fluff, Friends to Enemies, High School Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Louis Tomlinson Calls Harry Styles Pet Names, M/M, Mild Smut, Minor Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Plot Twists, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Therapy, Time Skips, Top Louis Tomlinson, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:16:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28607364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/auto_allthetime/pseuds/auto_allthetime
Summary: Harry and Louis didn’t get along very well. They tended to fight quite a bit, always causing a stir in public places and embarrassing their friends. Of course, their friends were just waiting for them to hook up the whole time-they even had secret bets on who would be the first to accidentally kiss the other during a heated argument. The thing is, they used to be in love. Nobody really knows what happened between them, but they certainly don’t intend on telling anyone any time soon. Or: the one where Harry and Louis are soulmates; they just don’t know it yet.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. In the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! If you’re reading this, I love you. Also, this is a work in progress and I have sooo many ideas for this fic! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it! For updates, you can follow my twitter @autoallthetime or my tumblr @auto-allthetime (but only if you want to!:))  
> ENJOY!

“Harry, don’t look now, but Louis just walked in.”, Niall muttered under his breath. 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Like I care.”  
After a slight pause, he spoke up again. (He did care. Kind of.)

“Why is he always here? I think he’s obsessed with us. If I don’t show up to class on Monday, question him first. He probably killed me.”, claimed Harry, voice filled with a strong hint of indignation. 

Niall narrowed his eyes and glanced at Louis, who was staring daggers at Harry. “I highly doubt that. You know, maybe the fact that this is one of the only restaurants in town has something to do with it.”

Harry sighed. “Keep telling yourself that, Horan. You shouldn’t even be allowed to have an opinion, seeing as you refuse to listen to true crime podcasts with me. You’re forgetting I’m an expert in this field.”

He glanced down at Niall and smiled. Although Niall often shut down Harry’s crazy conspiracies before they could get out of hand (which Harry was secretly grateful for), Harry knew he enjoyed the possibility of something remotely interesting happening in their little town of Cheshire, England just as much as he did. 

Niall laughed. “Alright crazy. Let’s order. I’m starving.”

“You ate, like an hour ago. And I’m ninety percent sure you ate half of my lunch too.”, Harry laughed.

Niall promptly shushed him. “You’re just jealous that you can’t eat two and a half lunches and still keep your slim figure.”, he said, gesturing exaggeratedly towards his nonexistent abs. 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure.”

They stepped up to the counter and placed their orders (to-go, for the sole purpose of removing Harry from Louis’ presence before they could cause a scene) and sat down to wait. 

***

Louis sat down next to Zayn and stole a couple of fries, which earned him a disappointed murmur from Liam. 

“Hey, Lou”, said Zayn. “What’s up?”

Louis smiled mischievously and looked around the cafe, making sure no one would hear him. He only stopped to glare at his curly-headed antagonist for a moment before launching into his story:

“So you know how my mum is going out of town this weekend?”, he asked. 

Zayn and Liam shared a confused look. “Yes?”, they said at the same time, which caused them to fall into a fit of giggles and fond looks. 

Louis rolled his eyes. “Save it for the bedroom”, he muttered before continuing. “Well, she’s going to be in London for three days, so I thought we could throw a party this weekend!”, he said excitedly. 

Liam’s eyes lit up. “Hell yeah! But will there be alcohol? This is important, Louis. Details, man, details!”

Louis laughed. “Calm down, of course there will be! What kind of host do you take me for?”

“But who’s coming?”, asked Zayn. “Ever since you quit football, you don’t really talk to any of the guys anymore.”

Louis sighed, exasperated. “How many times must we go over this, Zaynie poo?” He smiled when Zayn crinkled his nose at the horrid nickname. “I did not quit the football team. I broke my leg and was quite literally unable to continue this season.”

Liam nodded in mock seriousness. “Yes, and it’s definitely not like it’s healed and you could go back now instead of waiting until next year.”

“You’re just mad about me being your third wheel.”, he said, rolling his eyes. 

Liam opened his mouth to say something, but Zayn put a hand over his face and stopped him. 

“Gentlemen, this is no place for a fight. At least not between the two of you.”, he said with a meaningful glance at Harry. “Let’s plan: who are we inviting?”

Louis sighed and sat back in his chair, eyes drifting over to Harry and Niall. Something about the way Harry stood made Louis mad. Maybe it was just something about Harry in general. Yeah, he thought. Something about that little (big?) creep was infuriating. 

“Louis?”, asked Liam, snapping him out of his thoughts. “The party?”

Louis blinked a few times, trying to clear his head. “Right, um...well, we’ve got the three of us, let’s see...Stan could probably make it. Also Nick and Ed. Eleanor maybe, although she’s always in high demand for that weird dog walking business she started a while ago.”

“Lou, the party’s going to be at night. I doubt anyone needs their dog walked at midnight.”, Zayn laughed. 

Louis shrugged. “You never know. Ugh, I can’t think of anyone else. Can you?”

Liam and Zayn glanced at each other, almost like they knew something Louis didn’t. Which of course, they almost always did. 

Liam spoke up. “Well, there are a couple other people that come to mind...”

Zayn nodded. “Yes, two gentlemen that I think would appreciate an invitation.”

Louis shook his head, confused. “I’m not following.”

Zayn sighed. “Hmmm I don’t know...I think one of their names rhymes with Barry Gyles?”

Louis groaned. “If that was your attempt at a joke, you failed miserably. Not funny. Didn’t laugh. Not a peep.”

Liam smiled. “Come on, Lou. He’s super nice-at least to me and Zayn. I feel like maybe if you started being nice to him, he would be nice to you in return.”

Louis crossed his arms and stubbornly shook his head. “Maybe he should be nice to me first!”

Zayn slapped his palm to his forehead. “Louis, the only reason why the two of you don’t get along is because you have way too much in common. At times it seems like you’re the same person. In order to combat that, I think you should get to know him.”

“I do know him! I used to, anyway. We all used to hang out in our big group until he decided to abandon us!”, Louis exclaimed. 

Liam laughed. “He went on a year abroad. He was only gone for one school year! And sometime during his little expedition the two of you decided to have a falling out for no reason. And if I remember correctly, the two of you used to be extremely close...” 

Louis sniffed. “You know, Liam, I would rather not talk about that now. And there was definitely a reason.”, he muttered. 

Zayn quirked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What was that reason?”

Louis shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “That’s confidential.”

Liam smiled. “Yeah, okay Mr. Secret Spy. Anyway, it looks like he and Niall are about to walk out. We should invite them when they pass by our table.”, he said. 

Louis snapped his head around so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. Sure enough, Harry and Niall were grabbing their to-go boxes and thanking the cashier, preparing to leave. 

“I really don’t want him in my house, though...”, he whined. “He’s got cooties!”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Cooties? Are you five?”

Louis sank down in his chair, knowing that once Zayn and Liam decided to do something, there was nothing he could do to stop them. 

Liam waved Harry and Niall over as they turned. Harry looked confused and exchanged an uncertain look with Niall, but after a slight pause they approached the table. 

“Hey Liam. Did you need something?”, he asked, shooting a brief glare at Louis from the corner of his eye. 

Liam smiled. “Yeah, actually. We were wondering if you and Niall wanted to come to a party this weekend?”, he asked. 

Louis could practically picture it already: the screaming match that would ensue the moment Harry so much as looked at him the wrong way. But why did the idea of that make him so excited?

Harry let out a surprised laugh. “Really?”

Zayn nodded, leaning over Liam. “We think it’d be really fun to have the two of you there.”

***

Harry glanced down at Niall. “Well? What do you think?”, he asked. 

“We’d love to!”, exclaimed Niall with absolutely no hesitation. 

Harry silently cursed himself for letting Niall make the executive decision, but plastered on a fake smile, trying to avoid letting his gaze flit to Louis, who was sitting on the other side of the table with his eyes glued to the door. 

“Great!”, exclaimed Liam. “You guys know where Louis’ house is, right? That’s where the party is, by the way.”

Harry’s smile faltered for a split second. “Yep!”, he said through gritted teeth. 

Niall laughed nervously and patted Harry’s shoulder. “Yeah, we do. We had better get going...don’t want the food to get cold”,he offered as an explanation. He glanced at Liam and Zayn. “Text me the date and time, and we’ll be there.”, he said.

Liam nodded happily. “Will do!”

“I’m so excited!”, exclaimed Zayn. “This is going to be the party of the century, I can already tell.”

Niall nodded and started to usher Harry, who had gone unnaturally stiff, towards the door. “Text me!”, he repeated, pointedly staring at Liam, who he hoped took his hint: they needed to talk about more than just party details.


	2. And We Danced All Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this is getting more attention than I thought it would, which is motivating me to write more, so THANKS! I’m so glad someone is enjoying this. I know this is kind of a slow start, but trust me, it’ll be worth it. So without further ado, CHAPTER TWO!:)  
> **also, side note: this is set in present day, so 2020/2021-just without the covid;)

Louis tried his best to scrounge up a few more friends. He had never had a problem with finding people to hang out with before this year. Turns out, not playing sports makes you just a bit less popular. What a surprise.

He sighed and plopped down on the couch. Hopefully Zayn and Liam did a better job of finding party goers. Although they most likely forgot about their given task the second Louis left.

Louis shuddered. They were so in love, it was sickening.

He was just about to turn on the tv and mindlessly watch for a few hours when a loud knock startled him. He sighed, rolled off the couch, and dragged himself to the door.

He absentmindedly opened the door, preparing his “we’re not in need of any girl scout cookies, thanks” speech, but was surprised to see that the uninvited guest was much taller than him.

“WHAT are you doing here?”, he growled through gritted teeth.

Harry held up his hands, as if in surrender. “Relax. I just want to talk. Can I come in?”, he asked uncertainly. He stood further back on the porch than was necessary, perhaps to help restrain himself.

Louis scoffed. “Hmm, let me think...yeah, no. I’m busy, Curly. Important party planning business. So you had better get going, unless you want the failure of my party to be your fault.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Judging by that ratty sweatpants look you’re currently rocking, I’d say you’re definitely not busy, Loubear. “, he sneered. “Let me guess...you were about to sit in the exact same chair for five hours on end. Yes, that definitely counts as ‘busy’.”

“Don’t call me Loubear. That privilege is reserved for friends, which you, Harold, are not.”, said Louis, fluttering his eyelashes in mock innocence.

Harry blinked, unamused. “If you call me Harold again I’m getting a restraining order, Loubear.”, he said with a slight smirk.

Louis clasped his hands together. “A restraining order would be quite amazing, Harold. Then I wouldn’t have to stare your freakishly long twig limbs everywhere I go.”

Harry cocked an eyebrow. “Staring, are we? I knew you were obsessed with me, but I didn’t know your crush had progressed this far.”

Louis almost laughed but caught himself. “What do you want, Curly?”, he sighed.

“I already told you; I want to talk. Can I come in?”, Harry asked again.

Louis shook his head indignantly. “Definitely not. As I stated earlier, I am a very busy man.”

Harry scoffed and Louis noticed how his fists clenched together, trembling with effort. “Look, Louis. I don’t want to be here talking to you any more than you do, but this is important. We have a problem that needs to be solved.”

Louis hesitated for a split second before answering with a sassy retort. “Let me guess: you caused it?”

Harry chuckled slightly under his breath. “Partially, actually. I think both of us played a part in it, though.”

Louis’ brows knit together in confusion. He finally looked up and made eye contact with Harry for the first time since he arrived (uninvited!) at his house. They were hauntingly green and seemed to peer straight into Louis’ soul. Had they always been that intense and...moving?

Louis shook his head slightly, gathering his thoughts. “You promise this is important? Because I swear to God if your problem is that you ran out of laundry detergent or something, I’ll end you, Curly.”

Harry smiled hesitantly. “Promise.”

Louis warily stepped back and opened the door fully, allowing the bigger boy enough room to enter.

Harry stepped slowly into Louis’ home, taking off his shoes. Although Louis was appalled at the fact that Harry was here-right here in his home, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat endeared by the fact that Harry still remembered the no-shoes rule of the Tomlinson residence after all this time.

***

Harry slipped off his shoes and shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with Louis by glancing at the multitude of pictures hanging on the wall. He couldn’t help but feel relieved that they hadn’t really changed at all since the last time he had been here; portraits of Louis and his sisters lined the hallways, just as they always had. A few new ones had been added. He hardly even recognized Lottie and the twins.

“So...what is it?”, asked Louis, snapping Harry out of his nostalgia.

Harry blinked. Dammit. He had lost his train of thought. “What?”, he asked.

Louis sighed. “The problem? The one you so desperately need to talk about?”, he said, annoyance littering his tone.

“Right! Right, yeah. It actually involves your party.”, Harry said somewhat reluctantly, as if he regretted coming.

Louis rolled his eyes and plopped down on the couch, gesturing for Harry to sit in the recliner opposite him.

Harry sat down and tried to make sure Louis was paying attention without actually asking him if he was. After about 30 seconds of awkward silence, he began.

“As I’m sure you know, Niall and I are definitely coming to your party. He’s way too excited and I would feel bad for asking him to do something else-“ 

“Well why not just let him come with Zayn and Liam? Then you wouldn’t have to show up.”, Louis interrupted. 

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “He doesn’t want to be their third wheel. Anyway, our perpetual fighting really makes the others uncomfortable and I wanted to come here to try to make a truce. At least for the party.” 

Louis shot up out of his spot on the couch, furious. “You really think I can be civil with you? After what you did to me?! And how the hell do I make them uncomfortable? Stop being an entitled brat!”, he yelled, barely making any sense. 

He stormed off into the kitchen. Harry leapt up and ran after him. “Surely you’ve noticed how twitchy and awkward they all get whenever we fight”, he scoffed. “And seriously? What I did to you? I think you mean what you did to me.” 

Louis kept his back to Harry, opening and shutting cabinets with such force they threatened to break loose from their hinges.

“And another thing”, Harry continued, “That was two years ago! Two whole rotations around the sun and you’re still being stubborn about this? It was all a big misunderstanding!”, he screamed. 

Louis froze, hand on a cabinet handle. He slammed it shut and slowly turned around, eyes dark. 

“Misunderstanding? MISUNDERSTANDING? You really believe that you breaking my heart and forgetting about me was a misunderstanding?” 

Harry couldn’t stop the salty tears from welling up in his eyes. Despite himself, he reached forward and grabbed Louis’ hand. When Louis tried to pull away, Harry tightened his grip. 

“Listen to me Louis!”, he exclaimed, his voice breaking. “I never meant to hurt you. I was fifteen. I was stupid. Please, Louis. Calm down!” 

Louis wrenched his hand from Harry’s grasp and backed away. With his back against the wall and a wild look in his eyes, he slammed his fist against the counter, making Harry jump. 

“You may not be fifteen anymore, but you’re still stupid.”, he whispered. 

Harry groaned and put his head in his hands. “And you’re still petty.”, he grumbled. 

He took a deep breath. He could feel himself breaking down and he cursed himself for it. This always happened; he was always the first to break. He lifted his head up again and made eye contact with Louis. His bright blue eyes might as well have been two icy daggers piercing through his soul. He looked down at his hands. They were shaking.

“Look, Louis.”, he said. “I know you won’t forgive me, and honestly I don’t blame you. But I think we both need to apologize.”, he said, cringing at the look of disgust that came over Louis’ face. 

Louis frowned deeply and crossed his arms. “If you think I’ll ever make peace with you, you’re delusional. There’s no way in hell I would ever go back to hanging out with the likes of you.”, he said, voice shaking.

Harry looked him up and down. He noticed Louis’ foot was tapping swiftly on the linoleum floor. He always used to do that when he was nervous. 

Harry sighed. “I shouldn’t have come. I should have known I couldn’t reason with you.”, he said, defeated. He turned to go and headed towards the door. 

He turned around when he was half way there and was met again with that angry blue-eyed stare. He cringed away. 

His hand rested on the doorknob for just a moment too long. He turned his head halfway, glancing at Louis out of the corner of his eye. 

“By the way...I forgave you a long time ago.” 

*** 

Louis watched as Harry’s lanky figure crept out of the door. He stayed in his spot against the kitchen counter for much longer than he should have, watching the doorknob. Deep down, a part of him may or may not have wanted Harry to come back. 

He leaned against the wall and slumped down, head between his knees. His heart was still racing and showed no sign of slowing any time soon. He stared up at the ceiling and let out a shaky breath. How had it gotten this bad? 

Louis slowly unfolded himself and stood up. He trudged to his room and locked the door, even though no one was home. He leaned down and reached under his bed, grabbing the only object that was stored there.

He held the small box in his hands and wondered if he could handle reliving these memories. With a determined huff, he sat on the floor and tenderly opened the box.

On the top of the other miscellaneous objects was a small, crinkled polaroid. It had been ripped apart and taped back together at some point. The label on the bottom read ‘H+L Always’. 

Louis’ lower lip trembled and he flipped the picture over so he wouldn’t have to look at it anymore. He cast it off to the side and dumped out the rest of the box.

An origami heart spilled out. It was a bit crinkled, but otherwise it was in decent shape. The green color of the construction paper reminded Louis of Harry’s eyes.

The next item was a slightly yellowed envelope with the date July 25, 2018 written on the front. Louis’ breath hitched. That was the day Harry left for his year abroad in the United States.

He hesitantly opened the envelope and started to read the letter inside. He knew he would regret this. 

‘ _Lou,_

_I can’t believe how hard it is to say goodbye. I mean, I knew it would be hard, but not like this._

_So that’s why I’m writing you this letter. I’m too much of a sap to say goodbye with my voice, so why not write it instead?_

_I’m going to miss you. Obviously. But don’t worry, I’ll text you every day and call all the time!  
_

_Part of why I wanted to write this instead of say it out loud is what I’m about to have to admit. I don’t think I would be able to say it without losing my mind._

_Louis, I love you. There. I said it. But there’s more to this than just that. I think that lately, with all the crazy shit we’ve been through, we’re..._

_I don’t even know how to say this. Lou, I think we’re drowning. Drowning under the waves of words we can’t say out loud._

_That sounded really poetic, right? I’m pretty proud of coming up with it. Okay fine. I got it from a Pinterest quote._

_But it’s true. I think we’re not saying what we need to. But don’t worry. We’ll find a way to fix it. We always do._

_Love ya Loubear!_

_-H’_

Louis didn’t even try to stop the tears from spilling from his eyes. He sat there on his floor for 15 minutes, staring at the letter. His tears hit the page and smeared the words written in sparkly blue gel pen. 

How had it gotten this bad? How did he lose Harry so quickly? 

He gently folded the letter back into its envelope and slid it into his nightstand drawer. He looked back at the contents of his box laying on the floor. He nearly left it there in favor of eating his feelings away, but a gleaming picture frame caught his eye. 

The small, rectangular frame was homemade. It was painted with blue and green stripes and covered in silver glitter. Harry had written “We’re more than just a coincidence” on the bottom left corner. 

The picture inside caused Louis to cry even harder. 

It was a picture of him and Harry seated in a red leather booth at a Chinese restaurant in London. Harry looked so different. He was baby faced and his smile looked like it was bright enough to make even a blind person squint. 

The picture had been taken by one of their mothers. Louis couldn’t remember which one. He stared at the picture. 

That was his Harry. That Harry had never left Louis’ side. He did anything Louis asked him to. He was Louis’ baby. 

Louis’ brows knitted together. They had both changed so much. 

He glanced at baby Harry again. He turned the frame over in his hands and noticed a small slip of paper taped to the back. His breath hitched. 

It was a fortune from the cookie they had split that day. It read, “Remember yesterday, but live for today.”

Louis dropped the frame roughly, creating a small crack in the glass that held the photo. He flinched. He hadn’t meant to damage it. 

He dragged himself to his feet and decided he probably couldn’t take any more of a trip down memory lane. At least not today. 

He slowly walked back to the kitchen to try to take his mind off things.

***

Harry drove back to his house in silence, fuming over his failed attempt at reasoning with Louis. 

He sighed. He knew it wasn’t Louis fault. He cursed himself for losing it again, but of course that was nothing new. Ever since he got back from his year abroad, he and Louis fought almost every time they were in the same room. 

He turned on the radio, hoping to drown himself in music. The song “Night Changes” by One Direction started playing. 

Shit. That was their song. Harry sped up and pulled swiftly into his driveway. He parked the car and sat there for a while, listening to the song. He got a heavy feeling in his chest every time he heard it. He started to think about the first time he and Louis had danced to it... 

*2 Years Earlier*

“Haz, you know I can’t dance!”, laughed Louis. “And besides, how would you even dance to this song?” 

Harry wiggled his eyebrows mischievously. “Like this!”, he exclaimed. He proceeded to show off a series of choppy, horribly messy dance moves.

Louis doubled over in laughter, causing a few other people to look over in confusion. 

He joined Harry, throwing his own questionable dance moves into the mix. The two young lovers drifted closer together, until Harry was wrapped in Louis’ arms. They swayed to the rhythm of the song, Louis smiling up at Harry with a twinkle in his eyes. Harry leaned down and gently kissed Louis’ forehead. He turned his head so his mouth brushed Louis’ ear. 

“Even when the night changes, it will never change me and Lou.”, he sang. 

Louis laughed softly. “Stop it, you sentimental sap. You’re embarrassing me.”, he said as he reached up and ruffled Harry’s curls. 

They laughed together as the song ended. They stayed wrapped in each other’s arms until they lost track of time. The night went on, but they stayed close. 

***  
**Present Day**

Harry leaned forward and switched off the radio. He leaned against the steering wheel and stared outside the windshield. Soft sprinkles of rain were starting to fall. 

He rooted around the center console for his umbrella but couldn’t find it. Sighing, he reluctantly opened the door and stepped out into the now steadily pouring shower. 

He rushed inside and immediately went up to his room, ignoring Gemma’s daily “how was your day?” interrogation. 

He shut the door behind him and slumped down to the floor. 

“How did we get here?”, he asked himself. “Why won’t he just listen?!”

But Harry knew Louis had never been one to listen to others. 

Suddenly, Harry remembered something. He hopped up and opened his closet door, immediately spotting the small purple box partially hidden under an old blanket. He pulled it out and slowly opened it, almost afraid of what he would see. 

A neat stack of polaroids and scraps of paper took up half of the box. The other half was occupied by a few trinkets and keepsakes. 

Careful not to disturb the well-being of the small, breakable figurines piled in one corner, Harry removed the stack of memories from the box. 

He smiled as he remembered making matching memory boxes for Louis and himself. Louis had said they were corny and unnecessary, but Harry knew by the small smile creeping onto his lips that he secretly loved it. 

Harry examined the first picture. It was a shot of Louis playing football and waving up to Harry, who was cheering him on from the stands. In the background, you could just barely make out Zayn whispering something to a giggling Liam and Niall stuffing his face with popcorn.  
Harry chuckled and set the picture aside. 

The next item was a crumpled piece of paper; a note he and Louis had passed back and forth in class a couple years ago: 

H: Wanna hear a joke?:D  
L: Definitely not, but I’m sure you’ll tell me anyway  
H: You know me well, Tomlinson. What did the fish say when he hit the wall?  
L: Idk, what?  
H: Dam.  
L: That was awful. You shouldn’t be allowed to tell jokes.  
H: And yet here we are;)  
L: My house after school today?  
H: Duh!

Harry smiled wistfully. There were dozens of other slips of paper, all small snippets of conversations had in secret in the back of class, all written in the colorful gel pens that Harry had insisted on using for everything. 

At the bottom of the box, another picture sat, staring at him. Haunting him. 

It was a snap of him and Louis standing at the airport, the day he left for America. Louis smiled sadly, but had Harry wrapped in a bone-crushing hug. Harry beamed at the camera. On the back of the photo, Louis had scrawled “Bon voyage, Curly!”

Harry felt tears welling up in his eyes. That stupid trip. That was what had caused all of this. The root of all their problems.


	3. So This is Love?

**July 25, 2018**

“I can’t believe it’s already time for you to go.”, sighed Louis. “Summer went by way too fast.”

He was laying on his stomach, spread out across Harry’s bed, thumbing through one of Harry’s old Vogue magazines. 

“Too bad we kind of forgot to do all our fun plans.”, he said absentmindedly. 

Harry nodded as he struggled to close his suitcase, which was stuffed to the brim with enough outfits to clothe a small village. “I know. There was so much I wanted to do before I left, but I guess we’ll have time next summer...”

He looked over at Louis guiltily. They had never been apart for more than a week or two, and here he was, about to leave for a whole school year. 

Louis noticed Harry’s worried stare and rolled his eyes. “Calm down, Curly! We can FaceTime every night if you want.”

Harry smiled. “Well, duh. It just won’t be the same. I’ll miss falling asleep listening to your snores.”

“You complain about my snoring almost every chance you get! You’re getting a much needed break.”, Louis said, remembering all the times Harry had begged him to have his tonsils taken out because apparently that prevented snoring. 

Harry sighed dramatically. “But I’ve gotten used to it and now it’s hard to fall asleep without it.”, he whined. 

“You’ll be fine.”, Louis affirmed. After a slight pause, he went on. “So are you almost done? You’ve been packing for days now.”

Harry glanced around the room, doing one last check to make sure he got everything. “Yeah I think so. Although, the one thing that I want to take most can’t-“

“Woah woah woah, slow down. Don’t get all sentimental again. You know I can’t come! Besides, this is your trip. This is huge for you!”, said Louis. 

Harry laughed. “Well I was going to say I really wanted to take my dvd collection of Friends, but there’s no room in the bags for that.”, he teased. 

Louis poured and stuck his tongue out. “Typical. Sometimes I thank whatever force is responsible for our existence that Joey Tribbiani isn’t real. You’d ditch me for him faster than I could stop you if given the chance.”

“Maybe...”, said Harry, rolling his eyes. “Oh! Did you remember your going away gift? We need to leave soon and I’d rather do that here than at the airport.”, he said, reaching into his closet and pulling out a glittery, neatly wrapped package. 

Louis nodded and leaned over to open his drawer on the bottom of Harry’s dresser. He grabbed a small gift bag stuffed to the brim with tissue paper. 

Harry sat down cross-legged beside Louis, who twisted around and propped himself up on Harry’s pillow. 

“Alright”, said Louis. “I present to you-get it?- your gift!”

Harry laughed loudly. “Puns are my thing!”, he said, grabbing the bag from Louis. 

He gently pulled the layers of tissue paper out of the bag, wondering what the gift could be. Harry had always loved Louis’ presents. He thought Louis was the best gift-giver on the planet. 

At the bottom of the bag was a small black box. Harry smiled, failing at containing his excitement. 

He gingerly held the box for a moment before opening it. Louis, growing impatient, cleared his throat as if to say “Harold I love you, but hurry it up please”. 

Harry opened the box and gasped. Inside was a small, shiny, necklace with a paper airplane charm. He lifted the necklace out of the box and examined it in the palm of his hand. 

“Lou, it’s beautiful! I love it!”, he said, breathless. 

Louis smiled brightly. “I thought you would. I thought the airplane was an appropriate gesture, you know? Now, whenever you look at it, you’ll remember me. And that I’m just a plane ride, or more conveniently, a phone call away.”

Harry beamed. “This is by far the best part of the trip. And it hasn’t even started yet!” 

Louis held out his hand for the necklace. “Turn around and I’ll put it on for you.”, he said. 

Harry gingerly dropped the dainty necklace into Louis’ hand and let him put it on him. When Louis was done, Harry turned back to face him and asked, 

”So? How does it look?” 

“It looks amazing on you.”, said Louis. “But I knew it would.” 

He took Louis’ hand in his and held it tightly. “I love it. Really, Louis. It’s beautiful”

Louis smiled and gently rubbed his thumb against Harry’s. “I’m glad you like it.”, he murmured. 

They sat there, hands intertwined and unmoving for a few minutes. Finally, Harry snapped out of his bubble and clapped his hands together. 

“Your turn!”, he exclaimed, handing Louis his present. “I don’t know how it can compare to this”, he said, gesturing to the necklace, “but it’s the thought that counts, right?” 

Louis snorted. “Everything you do is perfect, Haz, and I doubt this will be any different.”, he said. 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Now open it!”

Louis smiled and ripped into the sparkly wrapping paper. He froze and smiled widely when he saw the small purple box. On the top of it Harry had drawn two little stick figures out of glitter glue. They seemed to be dancing together. 

“Harry, this is adorable”, he cooed. “Is it like a keepsake box or something?”

Harry nodded. “Exactly. I made one for both of us. It’s for you to put pictures or memories or trinkets or whatever inside. I thought it would be a nice gift.”, he said, blushing. 

Louis nodded and sprung forward, tackling Harry and engulfing him in a gigantic hug. “It’s perfect! I’m in love with it. Almost as much as I’m in love with you”, he said, planting a quick kiss on Harry’s cheek. 

Harry laughed. “Stop it, Lou! This is gift-giving time. Boyfriend time is postponed for the time being.”, he said, causing Louis to pout playfully and flop over onto his side in defeat. 

“There are also a few things inside it, but you should wait to open those. They’re surprises.”, he said, trying his best to sound mysterious but failing. 

Louis nodded in mock seriousness. “Surprises. Amazing. Thank you, Harold.”

Harry doubled over in laughter. “I’m serious! Save them for later so you have a nice surprise for some other time!”

Louis nodded and set the box aside. “So how long have we got before you have to leave?”, he asked. 

Harry glanced at his phone. “Like two hours.” He dramatically flopped down on top of Louis’ lap, exasperated. “Why is time going so fast? I’m convinced time isn’t actually real.”

Louis started playing with Harry’s curls and wishing there was more time left in the day. 

“It’s just because you’re excited. And scared. Don’t worry about it!”

Harry frowned. “Time really did pass by too fast this summer, though. We barely even got to do anything because of all the planning and scheduling. I wanted to do something...I don’t know...risky?”, said Harry in a questioning tone. 

Louis perked up. “Risky, you say? Like cliff diving risky or sexy time risky?”, he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Because I’m up for both.”

Harry smirked. “Is there a happy medium between the two?”

“There can be...but what could be both?”, Louis murmured, voice low and silvery. 

Harry loved when Louis’ voice got like that. It sent shivers down his spine. And judging by the knowing look in Louis’ eyes, he knew what it did to Harry. 

“Decide what you wanna do, Sweet Cheeks. I’m all yours for what little time we have left.”, said Louis, tracing the outline of some unrecognizable shape on Harry’s arm. 

“Don’t say it like that!”, exclaimed Harry, gently slapping Louis’ hand away. “You’re making it sound like I’m dying!” 

Harry thought for a moment. Although nothing would please him more than spending the next two hours wrapped in Louis’ arms, he actually did want to do something. 

He peered at his arm, where Louis’ fingers were gliding along, gently tickling him while drawing random little doodles. He watched him etch what looked like the word “hi”, and then it hit him:

“Lou, I think I want to get a tattoo.”

Louis looked down at Harry, eyes wide. “Really? Now? Do we even have time?”, he asked. 

Harry glanced at his phone again. They still had an hour and forty five minutes. “If we really hurry, probably. And if it’s really small.”

Louis sprang up, pulling Harry with him. “Off we go then! Lead the way!”

They sprinted out the door and down the street to the bus stop, anxiously waiting. 

“What kind of tattoo do you want?”, yelled Louis over the rushing wind. 

“What?”, Harry yelled back. The violent wind threatened to blow them away. Harry was genuinely worried about his smaller counterpart flying off. He tightened his grip on Louis’ hand. 

“What! Tattoo! Do! You! Want!”, Louis screamed, emphasizing each word. 

“Oh!”, exclaimed Harry. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I don’t know!”

“Well you had better decide pretty soon, because the bus is coming.”

Harry looked up just as the bus pulled up and opened its doors for them. Once they were safely seated and sheltered from the wind, Harry began to think of what he could possibly get. 

“Hey Lou...remember the first time we met?”, he asked. 

Louis smiled widely and nodded. “Of course I do, Curly. Such a world-changing experience cannot be forgotten.”

Harry rolled his eyes and stared out the window. He remembered that fateful encounter as if it was just yesterday. 

**April 11, 2016**

Harry rushed out of his house, struggling to hold all of his books. He had never been late for school, and he didn’t intend to break that personal record now. He sprinted towards the bus stop, miraculously not tripping over anything. Until he got about halfway to the stop. 

A shorter boy that looked to be about Harry’s age had been nonchalantly walking towards the same bus stop when Harry, who had been too focused on not tripping over a stray pebble, collided with him. 

“Oops!”, yelped Harry as he roughly bumped into the boy and fell, his books and papers flying out in every direction. 

The boy turned, rubbing the spot on his back that had taken most of the blow. With a confused look on his face, he peered down at Harry. When he realized Harry was down for the count, he immediately set down his own books and held out a hand. 

“Hi.”, he said. “Do you need help?” 

Harry sighed. “That would be great, actually.” He took the boy’s hand and let him help him up. “Sorry about that, by the way. I was—am in a rush. I’m late.” 

The boy nodded. “Me too. But it’s my first day here, so I was hoping I’d bump into someone who could help me. I guess I got what I wanted.”, he laughed. 

Harry smiled while trying to pick up his papers before they blew away. “I thought you looked new...”, he said, his mind not on the event unfolding right now, but on the test he was about to have to take. 

The boy bent down and picked up the remainder of Harry’s books. He brushed them off and waited patiently for Harry to stand up. 

Harry heaved a heavy sigh and stood up, embarrassed. “Thanks. I really am sorry.”, he said. After taking his books back from the boy, he decided to introduce himself. “I’m Harry.”, he said, holding out his hand. 

The boy took it in his own and shook it. “Louis. Nice to meet you.” 

Harry smiled and suddenly blushed. He had looked at Louis’ eyes for the first time. “You have really pretty eyes.”, he blurted. 

Louis blushed and looked down. “Thanks...I really like your hair.” 

They laughed at the same time and Harry started to feel at ease. Somehow it felt like he had known Louis forever. 

As Harry listened to Louis’ happy laughter, he forgot all about his upcoming test. 

“So do you need help finding everything?”, he asked. “I can help you when we get to school if you want.” 

Louis smiled brightly, his eyes crinkling. Harry thought it made him look adorable. “That would be awesome!”, Louis said. 

The two new friends walked the remainder of the way to school together in favor of taking the dirty public bus. A couple times, their arms brushed together and Harry’s heart kept skipping beats. 

From that day on, Harry and Louis were inseparable. All because the clumsy boy with the curly hair had interrupted the confident, sarcastic boy’s quiet morning. 

And it wouldn’t be until about a year later that Louis told Harry the truth: he had seen Harry in the neighborhood before and was actually waiting for him. 

**July 25, 2018**

Harry perked up as he continued to watch the trees and houses pass by in a blur outside the window. 

“That’s it!”, he exclaimed, making Louis jump slightly.  
“I want our first words tattooed on my arm.”, he said proudly. 

Louis raised his eyebrows incredulously. “You want the word “oops” written on your body? Forever?”, he asked. 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Say what you want, but I think it’s a lovely idea. It’s sentimental!”, he exclaimed, nose in the air. 

Louis smiled and took Harry’s hand. “What if we both got a tattoo?”, he asked. 

When Harry seemed confused, Louis elaborated. 

“I’ll get Oops and you’ll get Hi.”

Harry’s eyes widened as he smiled so widely, Louis thought he would break his jaw. 

“That’s a great idea! Lou, that’s amazing!”, he said excitedly. “Oh my god, we’re getting a couple’s tattoo!”

Louis laughed lightly. “Well yeah. I think...I think it’ll be a nice reminder for me. To feel like you’re with me while you’re gone.”, he said as he looked fondly into Harry’s bright green eyes. 

Harry smiled and sighed delightedly. “You never fail to amaze me, Tomlinson.”, he said, leaning back in his seat. 

Louis rested his head against Harry’s shoulder. “Right back at ya, Styles.”

***

“So..you want the words “hi” and oops”?”, the tattoo artist asked skeptically. “Is there a meaning behind that?”

Louis nodded. “Yes there is, but we’re kind of in a hurry and it would be amazing if you could speed this up.”, he said nervously. He glanced at his phone, worried that Harry would miss his flight. 

The tattoo artist held up his hands in surrender. “Whatever you say. Oh, I almost forgot to ask. Do you two have a parent or guardian’s permission?”

Harry and Louis exchanged a worried look. 

“Yes?”, said Harry. 

The tattoo artist rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” 

He patted the chair and gestured for Harry to sit. 

Harry sat down, although he was majorly confused. “You’re not sending us away?”, he asked, still worried. 

“I get a lot of kids wanting tattoos without their parents knowing. I don’t think you should have to have permission to express yourself.”, the artist said, shrugging. 

Louis smiled as he watched Harry settle in. The nervous smile on Harry’s face was just so endearing. 

Harry flinched slightly as the needle hit his arm, but watched in awe as the ink was etched onto his skin. 

He reached out for Louis with his free hand, and they stayed beside each other while the artist did his work. 

Louis smiled as the word “hi” was written in his own handwriting. They had given the artist a slip of paper with the words written in their own scrawls beforehand. They wanted the tattoos to be unique. 

After about twenty five minutes, the artist sat back and smiled. “Done! Your turn, kid.”, he said, pointing at Louis. 

Harry and Louis quickly switched places and after cleaning his equipment, the artist got right to work on Louis’ arm. 

Louis flinched quite a bit more than Harry had, and kept his eyes shut and nose scrunched with effort not to whimper in pain. Harry noticed and squeezed his free hand in support. 

Louis opened one eye and smiled at Harry. 

He was just starting to get used to the pain when the artist lifted the needle and smiled.

“All done!”, he said.

Louis looked at his arm in awe. Although the skin around the fresh tattoo was raw and slightly puffy, he thought it looked amazing. 

Harry gently grabbed his arm and smiled widely, his dimple showing. Louis loved that dimple. If given the chance, he would live inside it. 

Harry looked at the tattoo artist, delight radiating off of him in waves. “Thank you! These are amazing!”, he said. 

The artist smiled. “No problem. Let me just ring you up and you guys are good to go.”

Louis and Harry paid for their new tattoos and walked out the door. Louis was amazed at how fast they had gotten done. 

They linked their bandaged arms and walked leisurely back to the bus stop to pick up Harry’s bags and drive to the airport with Harry’s mum. 

***

About thirty minutes later, Harry and Louis sat in the back of Anne’s mini van, knees touching. 

Anne squinted at them in the mirror. “So you mean to tell me you went and got a TATTOO without my knowledge?”, she asked, clearly in shock. 

Harry laughed nervously. “Well...yeah. But it was a spur of the moment decision! We didn’t really plan it out beforehand.”

Anne groaned and shook her head. “Well, it better not have been anything stupid. You’ll have that for rest of your life, you know.”

“Well, we—“, Harry started to say, but Louis interrupted him. 

“Don’t worry, Anne. We thought it through. And the tattoo guy was really nice!”, he added. 

Anne rolled her eyes. “Great. Because a nice tattoo artist is the only factor in this situation that I was worried about.”

She fumed silently while Harry and Louis locked eyes, trying not to burst into fits of giggles.

Harry leaned over and whispered, “I think you might have made it worse.”

Louis smirked. “At least you don’t have to ride with her on the trip back.”

Harry laughed, earning a stern look from Anne. 

“Hey, thank you for doing this with me. I know you’ve never really liked tattoos.”, he murmured. 

Louis smiled. “It was actually kind of fun. I think the thrill of it is growing on me.”

Harry smiled and looked down, as if he was considering saying something but thought better of it. 

“What’s wrong?”, Louis asked. When Harry shook his head, Louis rested his hand on the other boy’s knee. “No, come on. What’s bothering you? I know that look.”

Harry hesitated before taking Louis’ hand in his and whispering, “I’m just worried about what this trip is going to do to us.”, he said. “Long distance relationships can be tricky, and every time either one of us has tried to talk about it, we get all awkward and change the subject.” ,Harry said quickly, his words running together. 

Louis bit his lip, taking in Harry’s words. He had noticed that too. “H, there’s nothing to worry about.”, he assured. “I promise you. I don’t think there’s anything that could tear us apart.”

“But are you absolutely sure, Louis?”, Harry griped. “I need you to be completely sure.”

Louis smiled, humoring Harry. “Haz, I just got a fucking couple’s tattoo with you. I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”

That seemed to calm Harry down. 

Louis leaned over and wrapped his arm around Harry. “We’ll be alright. We always are.”, he affirmed. 

Harry chuckled and leaned into Louis’ chest. “I know. I’m just being silly.”, he said. 

Louis shifted closer to Harry, bending down to plant a swift kiss on his forehead, when he was interrupted by Anne. 

“Hey, not in the car!”, she nagged. “You two are already on thin ice, so cool it!”

Louis reluctantly drifted away from Harry. 

A few minutes later, as they parked at the airport and lugged Harry’s baggage out of the trunk, Louis stood on his toes to whisper into Harry’s ear. 

“Just promise me you won’t lose your accent.”, he begged. 

Harry laughed. “Don’t worry; I won’t.”, he said. 

(Spoiler alert: he did.)


	4. Is It Is What Is?

“Zayn, did you bring the food?”, Louis yelled through the kitchen door. 

“Liam’s picking it up now.”, came Zayn’s muffled voice. 

Louis sighed and haphazardly grabbed the giant stack of paper plates and cups from the counter. He bumped the door open with his hip and was met by a smiling Zayn sitting in the recliner beside the window. 

“Look at this picture Liam sent me.”

He held out his phone for Louis to reveal a blurry picture of a vase in the shape of a cat. The hole that Louis assumed the flowers were supposed to go in was in a...questionable spot. 

“How high do you think the person that designed that thing was?”, Louis asked. 

Zayn laughed, shrugging. “It’s unique. Also, how much do you want to bet he bought it?”

Louis smiled. “I know better than to make a bet concerning that idiot’s endeavors with you. He definitely bought it.”

“Right you are, Tomlinson. Look.”  
He held out the phone once more to show a video Liam had taken of him buckling the ceramic cat into the passenger seat of his car. 

Louis laughed. “Sometimes I wonder what the hell is going on inside his brain.”

“His mind is an enigma.”, Zayn confirmed. 

Louis sat down on the floor, exhausted. Getting his mum to leave without raising any suspicions had been a nightmare. She had given Louis an hour long lecture about “no more than three friends” and “be safe with...whatever it is you may plan on doing” because she could tell by the nervous nature of Louis’ goodbyes that he was definitely planning something. 

“Oh”, said Zayn. “I told Harry and Niall to be here at 7:00.”

Louis, who had been very near to falling asleep, snapped awake. “What? Why? The party doesn’t start until 9:00!”, he exclaimed, his heart rate quickening. 

Zayn shrugged. “I thought it would be nice for the five of us to hang out. We haven’t done anything as a group in forever.”, he said barely glancing up from his phone. “Niall seems really excited.”

Louis’ eyes were hard and narrowed. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you and Liam are trying to instigate a fight.”

“Not a fight.”, Zayn muttered. “But something along those lines, yeah.”

“What do you—“

Suddenly the door burst open and Liam rushed in, shoving the cat-butt vase into Louis’ face. 

“Look at it! Isn’t it magnificent?!”, he asked loudly. 

Louis held it away from his head, slightly weirded out. “It’s...something, alright.”, he said. 

“It’s great, babe!”, piped up Zayn. “What should we name it?”

Liam shook his head. “I already told Harry he could name it. He said he wants to meet it first so he can determine it’s personality.”

Louis rolled his eyes. Harry had always had this weird thing about naming inanimate objects. From the water bottle he had deemed “Philip” to the bright pink scrunchie named “Declan”, he had a name for everything. 

“Since when are you and Harry even on good terms?”, Louis snapped, getting heated just thinking about him. The fight they had a few hours earlier still weighed heavy in his brain. 

“Since always? I’m not the one who gets into fist fights with him on a weekly basis.”, Liam said innocently. 

Zayn roughly kicked Liam in the shin and gave him a dirty look. “Ignore him, Lou.”

After a slightly heavy pause, he continued. “He kind of is right, though. We talk to him all the time.”

Louis gaped, mouth open wide. “What?! This information is completely new to me. When?”

Liam shrugged. “In the halls at school, whenever we see him in town...he’s on every social media, so there’s that too.”, he said. 

“Well, I’ve had him blocked on everything for quite a while, so I wouldn’t know.”, stated Louis. 

Liam and Zayn exchanged an exhausted look. “We know”, they said in-sync, which caused Liam to burst into a fit of laughter. 

Louis rolled his eyes. “You guys are sickening.”, he said as he got up to leave. 

“Did you remember food?”, Louis called over his shoulder. 

“Yeah!”, said Liam. “It’s in the car. Zayn here is going to be a dear and help me out with it.”

Liam leapt to his feet and hoisted Zayn up bridal style. He whisked him out the door, giggling the whole time. 

Louis headed back into the kitchen slowly, feeling as if he had forgotten something. His eyebrows knit together as he picked up his phone and started checking his notifications. An Instagram notification caught his eye and suddenly he lost his train of thought. 

What if...? No, no he couldn’t. He had gone so long without looking at it. 

But...

He gave in and opened the app. He went straight to the settings and hit the “blocked profiles” button. There was only one username under it. 

When he pressed on it, the little bubble came up, saying “are you sure you want to unblock ‘harry.styles94’?”, almost like it was mocking him. 

Louis hesitantly pressed yes and watched as the account was revealed to him. His breath hitched as he saw Harry’s bio. 

“Does it ever drive you crazy, just how fast the night changes?” 

Shit. He hadn’t changed it for at least two and a half years. Louis almost smiled but stopped himself. 

The big idiot probably just couldn’t think of anything original to replace it with. 

He scrolled down, clicking on the first post. It was a picture of Niall golfing. The caption read “Not fun. Send help.”

Louis laughed. Even if Harry was the most annoying person on the planet, Louis had always thought he was funny. 

He scrolled down a little more, stopping when he came to a photo of Harry and Liam at what looked like a vineyard, drinks in hand. 

Louis narrowed his eyes. He ignored the fact that they were drinking underage in public, because what kind of hypocrite would he be if he called them out for that? Especially now, as he was about to have an alcohol-filled party. Aside from the fact that Liam was publicly fraternizing with the enemy, they were drinking what looked like two extremely fruity blue beverages. Louis thought about all the old snapchats Harry had sent him of wild, crowded parties and the colorful beverages he had grown fond of while on his trip. 

He almost scrolled past it when suddenly he remembered what he felt like he was forgetting. 

“Liam!”, he yelled. “I forgot the beer!”

Liam’s voice drifted into the kitchen. “Well damn. How are we going to get any this late?”

Louis hurriedly grabbed his car keys and coat. “I’m going to go ask Stan’s older brother if he can pick some up for us!”

He frantically ran to the door, but just as his hand reached the doorknob, the door was flung open by a beaming blond ball of energy. 

“The party has arrived, lads!”, exclaimed Niall jovially. 

Zayn and Liam cheered and welcomed him in. 

“Where’s Harry?”, asked Zayn. 

Niall peered out the door. “He’s at the car. We brought some stuff.”

Louis smiled nervously at Niall. “Yeah, thanks. Alright lads, I’ll be back soon so-“

As Louis had turned he collided with Harry’s broad, muscular chest in the doorway. He cringed away, eyes angry. 

“Watch where you’re-“

He stopped mid sentence when he looked down at what Harry was holding in his hands. 

“You...you brought beer?”, he asked softly. 

Harry blushed and looked away. “Um, yeah. You always forget stuff like this and I thought it was better safe than sorry with the beer.”, he babbled. 

Louis stepped back slowly. “Well, uh, thanks. You can set it over there.”, he said, pointing to the table in the middle of the room. 

Harry nodded and walked towards the table. 

Louis turned towards the others. “Beer problem equals solved, gentlemen!”

“Where would we be without Harold?”, asked Liam. “Let’s hear it for tonight’s savior!”

Harry shook his head. “Come on Li, it’s just beer. Gemma helped us pick it up.”

Niall scoffed. “Liar! He went and got it himself. The cashier didn’t even ask to see an ID. Let’s all be thankful that Harry looks about five years older than he actually is.”

Zayn and Liam laughed. Louis stiffly made his way to his spot on the floor, next to where Niall was now splayed out on his back. Harry still stood in the middle of the room, looking extremely out of place. 

“Well don’t just stand there, Curly. Come on.”, ordered Louis, pointing to the chair he had sat in a few hours earlier. 

Harry immediately sat, obeying Louis. Apparently old habits die hard. 

Louis cursed himself for enjoying Harry’s submissiveness. Something about the way he immediately did whatever Louis wanted had always made Louis warm inside. 

“So, what should we do?”, asked Liam. “We have quite a while before anyone else gets here.”

Harry’s brows knit together in confusion. “But didn’t you say it started at 7:00?”

Zayn nodded. “Yes, but that was just because we wanted to hang out with you and Niall.”, he said. “Well, most of us did.”

He examined Louis’ red face and turned back to Harry. 

“I just missed hanging out with you.”, he explained. 

“Oh”, was all Harry could muster. 

They were all silent for a moment too long. 

“Let’s play Never Have I Ever!”, blurted Liam. 

Niall laughed. “I like where this is going!”, he exclaimed as he hopped up, grabbed five beers, and handed one to each boy. 

Louis pushed the coffee table out of the way so they could all scoot closer together in a circle. 

He sighed and rolled his eyes when Harry ended up across from him. 

“I’ll start!”, said Liam. “Never have I ever...broken a bone!”

Louis sighed and took a sip of his beer. “I feel personally targeted.”, he muttered. 

“That’s kind of the point.”, Zayn laughed. “Alright. Never have I ever...”, he paused an thought for a moment before a smug look came over his face. “...done the dirty in a public place.”, he said, staring back and forth between Louis and Harry. 

Louis locked eyes with Harry as he took another sip of his drink.

Harry sighed and reluctantly brought the bottle to his mouth, taking a microscopic sip. 

Niall started cackling loudly. “I guess you could say that was a...low blow!”, he exclaimed, out of breath. 

“Nice!”, said Liam, high-fiving him. 

Harry sternly shook his head. “Don’t encourage him.”

Niall calmed down after a few more seconds of hysterical laughter. “But in all seriousness, Harold: why did I not know about this?”

Liam nodded fervently. “I didn’t know either! Zayn, why did you of all people know that?”

Zayn smiled maniacally. “That’s secret I’ll never tell.”

Harry hid his face in his hands. “Can we please move on? Who’s turn is it?”

Niall, still out of breath, pointed to Louis. 

Louis settled into his spot, plotting his revenge. He looked right as Zayn as he said, “Never have I ever accidentally sent nudes to the group chat instead of my boyfriend.”

Zayn’s eyes widened as he gaped at Louis. “I thought we agreed to never speak of that again?”

Harry and Niall doubled over in laughter, leaning against each other for support. 

“I remember that!”, yelled Niall. 

“Well yeah, it would be pretty hard to forget.”, Harry sputtered through uncontrollable giggles. 

Louis smiled. Maybe Harry wasn’t so bad...or maybe he was just tipsy. 

“Alright!”, said Zayn, plastering on a fake smile. “Liam’s turn.”

Liam looked at each person thoughtfully. His eyes roamed the room with careful calculation. Then an evil twinkle came to life in his eye. He looked at Zayn, who saw his look and immediately caught on. Zayn nodded, as if in encouragement. 

“Never have I ever been to America.”, he said nonchalantly. 

Harry, confused, took a swig of his drink. “That was pretty transparently meant for me...”, he said. “But it wasn’t embarrassing?”

Liam shook his head. “No, Harold. No it was not. Let’s carry on. Zayn?”

Zayn nodded to Liam in a businesslike manner. “Thank you Liam. Never have I ever been captain of the football team.”, he said, observing Louis. 

Louis narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but took another sip anyway. “This is becoming extremely shady.”, he muttered. 

Harry nodded. “Yeah, for once I actually agree with him.”, he said, pointing to Louis. “What are you two trying to do?”

Zayn made a zipper motion on his lips and shook his head. Then he leaned over to Niall and whispered something to him. Niall’s eyes lit up immediately. 

“Oh!” He looked over at Liam. “That’s genius!”

Liam bowed. “Thank you, thank you. Now go on, Niall. We don’t have all night.”

Niall stared up at the ceiling in thought. “Hmm...never have I ever been a bottom.”, he said matter of factly. 

Everyone turned to look at Harry, who pursed his lips and blushed. 

“Well?”, asked Niall. 

“This is ridiculous!”, said Harry, looking away as he took a quick drink. 

Louis knit his eyebrows together. So far, he and Harry had been the only ones to really drink. Maybe the others...

He lost his train of thought. The alcohol was starting to mess with him. He shook his head, vision slightly blurring. “Okay, it’s my turn. Never have I ever made Louis and Harry extremely uncomfortable and confused.”, he snapped. 

Harry giggled and hiccuped. 

Louis rolled his eyes. Harry had always been a lightweight. 

Zayn, Liam, and Niall all exchanged glances and took a sip of their beers. Liam immediately continued. 

“Never have I ever lost my virginity behind the school bleachers!”

“Never have I ever had Edward as a middle name!”

“Never have I ever gone skinny dipping with my boyfriend!”

The statements just kept on and on coming. Harry and Louis were each forced to take constant sips of their drinks. Soon, Louis ran out of his first bottle and cheerfully stated that he should be done, and had technically won, but Liam shoved another bottle into his hand. 

Eventually, Harry started blending his words together and swaying back and forth. He had shifted so that he was almost on top of Niall’s lap, sort of like an overly large cat. 

Louis himself wasn’t doing much better. He was staring at Harry, only able to think of how long his hair had grown and how much he wanted to braid it. He had twisted onto his side and was playing with a stray string hanging off the rug. 

It was Harry’s turn. “Never ‘ave I ev— shit!” 

He had accidentally spilled the remainder of his drink all over his shirt. 

“Heyyyy Louuuubear, can I use your shirt-cleaning utensils?”, he asked deliriously. 

Louis nodded. He felt like he was floating. “Of course, Curly. You know where it is.”, he said, pointing in the wrong direction. 

Harry stumbled to his feet and hopped—literally hopped, like some sort of gigantic rabbit—to the kitchen. 

Louis watched him go. Damn, his ass looked good in those jeans. Without thinking, he got up and followed Harry, not registering the triumphant cheers coming from behind him. 

He burst into the kitchen and drifted through it into the laundry room, where Harry was shirtless and trying to press the start button on the washing machine but failing miserably. 

He jumped when he saw Louis in the doorway. “Jesus, Lou, you scared me.”, he slurred. 

Louis let his eyes travel up and down Harry’s chest. 

“I didn’t know you had a tattoo there.”,he said, pointing to Harry’s chest. 

Harry looked down at the large butterfly. “Yeah..it’s new?”

Harry tended to say everything as a question when he was drunk. 

Louis slowly nodded, trying to focus. He was seeing at least four butterflies. 

“I have a new one too.”, he said, lifting his shirt up and slipping out of it. In the back of his head, the tiny, quiet voice of Sober Louis screamed “stop it you idiot!” but he didn’t listen. 

He pointed to the words on the top of his chest. “It says ‘Is It Is What Is’ I think.”, he said, voice rising and falling with every word. 

Harry stared back in confusion. “What?”

Louis shook his head. “I don’t know.”, he said, grabbing his head. “Oh my god we’re so drunk.”

He turned on his heel and stumbled to the refrigerator. He grabbed two bottles of water and handed one to Harry, who took it skeptically. 

“Water helps drunken fools like ourselves.”, Louis explained. 

Harry giggled. “I know. It’s just that you haven’t willingly given me anything in a really long time.” 

He fell into a fit of senseless laughter and plopped down on top of a big pile of unwashed clothes. 

Louis followed his lead and sat down on top of the dryer. 

They both sat there laughing as they sipped their waters. 

Eventually, Louis started to see everything a bit more clearly. He stole a glance at Harry once or twice, but Harry was already looking at him. 

Louis stared back at Harry, taking him in. Suddenly he wondered what this Harry would feel like compared to his Harry. 

He slowly climbed down from his spot on the dryer and lowered himself onto Harry’s lap. 

Harry froze, eyes wide. “Louis, what are you—“

Louis put a finger to Harry’s lips, shushing him. “I want you to kiss me.”, whispered Louis. 

“What?!”, exclaimed Harry, bewildered. 

“I said kiss me, bitch.”, Louis demanded. 

He launched himself forward and crashed his lips onto Harry’s. He still felt the same. He felt soft and gentle and like everything that’s wonderful in the world. 

Harry cupped Louis’ face in his hand and kissed him back for a moment before suddenly coming to his senses. He pulled away with a wild look in his eyes. 

“Louis, we’re drunk! This isn’t right!”, he exclaimed. 

Louis shook his head. “I’m not drunk. Just shut up and kiss me again.”

Harry tried to lean away, but Louis joined their lips again. Louis pulled Harry up to his feet and desperately led him into the kitchen. He pushed him against the cabinets, causing the dishes inside to rattle precariously. 

***

Back in the living room, Niall, Liam, and Zayn all stared wide eyed at the kitchen door, listening to the rattling dishes and frantic kissing noises. 

“Well that worked better than I thought it would.”, said Liam in awe. 

Zayn nodded, speechless. 

Niall laughed. “Do you guys smell that?”, he asked. 

Zayn and Liam glanced towards him, confused. 

“Smell what?”, asked Zayn. 

Niall pointed to the kitchen. “The scent of sexual tension is in the air.”


	5. Coincidentally Fated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter (and really the whole story so far) is so all over the place, but if you’ve stuck with it for this long: thank you:)

Harry ran his fingers through Louis’ hair as they kissed in the middle of the kitchen. 

Louis planted soft, gentle kisses along the length of Harry’s neck, eyes closed in pleasure. 

Harry knew he was drunk. He knew Louis was drunk. But it just felt so _right_. 

He felt like he had gone a lifetime without feeling Louis’ magical touch, and now, pressed up against the cool steel of the refrigerator, just centimeters from Louis’ face, Harry supposed that in a way he had. 

He gently cupped Louis’ head in his hands and tilted his face up. 

“I missed this.”, he whispered.

Louis leaned forward slightly so that their foreheads were touching. “I missed you.”, he whispered back, all smiles.

That was what did it for Harry. Louis wasn’t himself. Sober Louis would never let this happen, not after their relationship ended the way it did. 

Harry quickly ducked away from Louis, eyes wide.

“Oh my God.”, he half-yelled. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”

Louis, confused, turned to face Harry.

“What’s wrong? Did I do something?”

Harry shook his head. “No, of course not. You didn’t do anything. But _we_ almost did.”

“What do you mean?”, asked Louis. Harry could see that whatever progress they had made towards letting bygones be bygones was ebbing away as Louis shrunk in on himself, suddenly uncertain. 

“Louis, we’re drunk. When you’re drunk you don’t think straight. And it’s harder to give true consent when you’re not thinking straight.”, Harry babbled. 

Louis rolled his eyes and smirked. “Tell me, Harold, when have either us ever been able to think _straight_?”, he asked, eyeing Harry’s curls. They had become quite out of order in the midst of their short-lived reconcile. 

“I’m serious!”, Harry grumbled. “I know this feels great now, but you’ll regret it in the morning.”

Louis blinked a few times. “I’m _not_ drunk! Look!”

He proceeded to walk in what he thought was a straight line into Harry’s arms. 

Harry smiled sadly. “You’re definitely drunk, Lou. Let’s get some more water into your system. I need some too.”

He wrapped Louis’ arm around his shoulders and proceeded to half-carry him over to the kitchen table, where they sat across from each other and silently sipped their waters.

After a few minutes, Louis finally spoke up. “You know...I’ve been thinking about us a lot lately.”

Harry locked eyes with him, bewildered. Harry couldn’t remember the last time they had gone this long without fighting. 

“Y-you have?”, he stammered nervously. 

Louis nodded. “Yep.”

Harry stared at him for a moment. “Are you planning on elaborating on that statement?”, he questioned. 

Louis shook his head. “Nope.”

“O-kay?”

They were silent for another few minutes before Harry spoke up again. 

“So are we going to yell at them for getting us drunk out of our minds?”, he asked. 

Louis smiled. “I like the way you think, Styles.”

He hopped up and hesitated for a beat before offering his hand to Harry. 

Harry gingerly took it and let Louis pull him up and lead him out the kitchen door.

***

Louis burst through the door, revving up his voice to yell at Zayn and Liam. And maybe a little at Niall, too. 

“Just what the hell did you fuckers think you were doing?”, he roared. “Do you realize the impact alcohol has on the mind? Do you- Shit.”

He stopped his rant mid sentence, taking in the living room. 

About a dozen party guests had arrived. They had been mingling around the room when Louis had burst in, drawing all attention to himself and Harry. 

“Uh, hi Louis.”, said Stan. 

Louis stood gawking at the newcomers. He had completely forgotten the party was even happening. 

Eleanor peaked around Ed’s shoulder, eyeing Louis and Harry. “What happened to the two of you?”

Louis looked down, suddenly remembering he had ditched his shirt. He glanced over at Harry, who of course was also shirtless, and was frozen in the doorway like a deer in headlights. 

Louis and Harry locked eyes. Louis immediately knew Harry was thinking about the same thing... 

***

**October 31, 2017**

“So...what are you two supposed to be?”, asked Zayn. 

Harry rolled his eyes and yanked Louis out of the crowd so they were standing shoulder to shoulder. “I’m Coincidence. He’s Fate.”, he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

Zayn nodded slowly. “Okay...and how do you expect people to know that?”

Louis scoffed. “We have a _script_ , Zayn.”

He turned to look up at Harry. 

“Alright, go.”

Harry straightened his shoulders. “Well, look who I ran into.”, he said with a posh accent. 

“Please.”, flirted Louis. “It was meant to be.”

They both turned to Zayn expectantly. “Get it?”, asked Harry excitedly. “Because you know-“

Zayn held up his hand. “Yeah, yeah. We get it. You’re cute. Now be a dear and go get us some drinks.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Wonder who I’ll run into on my way there? Get it?”, he crowed over his shoulder as he drifted towards the refreshments table. 

Zayn leaned over to Louis and whispered in his ear, “No one’s going to get it.”

Louis sighed. “I know. But he was so excited! And you have to admit, it’s pretty clever.”, he affirmed. 

Zayn shrugged. “I guess so. But why would Fate and Coincidence be dressed like Greek gods?”, he said, gesturing to Louis’ ridiculous toga, which _coincidentally_ (get it?) matched Harry’s. 

Louis shrugged. “Don’t ask me! I just went with whatever Harry wanted. But I do think it kind of matches the vibe.”

Zayn rolled his eyes. “I’m not convinced.”

“You’re just jealous you’re not as creative as our dear Harold.”, teased Louis, examining Zayn’s Spiderman costume.

“Yeah...sure.”, Zayn said. He had lost interest in Louis, instead focusing on the dance floor with a longing look in his eyes.

Louis followed his gaze and immediately understood. Liam Payne, a boy he had never really talked to but knew from passing in the hallways at school, stood talking to a group of girls, laughing at something one of them had said. 

“Zayn. Go talk to him.”, Louis ordered. 

Zayn shook his head ferociously. “I shouldn’t. Besides, I don’t even know if he’s into guys.”

“You’ll never know if you don’t talk to him.”, Louis reminded. 

“I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I’m serious. I have a feeling about these things. And I have a feeling he’s thinking the exact same thing as you are.”, Louis stated matter of factly. 

Zayn rolled his eyes. “How could you possibly know that?”

“Well for one thing, I had a feeling about me and Harry, and that turned out pretty damn great. And for another thing, he’s staring you like you’re a freaking museum attraction.”

Zayn turned back to the dance floor, eyes wide. He was shocked to see that Louis was right. Liam was standing there awkwardly gawking at him. He blushed when he noticed Zayn was staring back. 

Louis gave Zayn a gentle push forward. “I’m serious. Go talk to him.”

Zayn bit his lip and took a hesitant step forward. “But are you sure? Absolutely sure about this?”

“Yes! Now go!”, Louis demanded.

Zayn took a deep breath and walked toward Liam, visibly nervous. 

Louis watched as he started talking to Liam. Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around to be met by Harry holding three glasses of punch. 

“Drinks!”, he exclaimed. “What’s Zayn doing?”

Louis smiled. “I’ve just sent him off. By the time he gets back, he’ll have himself a date. 

Harry laughed. “You finally convinced him? I thought he’d never work up the courage to do it.”

Louis shrugged. “I’m very convincing. I think it’s the eyebrows.”

“Hmm yes, they are very calming.”, murmured Harry as he sipped his drink.

“Remember the first time we hung out? Like as more than friends?”, asked Louis. 

Harry laughed. “Duh. My favorite part of that experience was you tripping over the crack in the floor and almost breaking your elbow.”

“You know, you should be lucky I didn’t dump you right then and there for laughing at me.”, Louis retorted. 

Harry burst into a fit of manic laughter. “I’ve told you like a thousand times, I was laughing at the waiter! He just stood there like he had witnessed a murder!”

Louis nodded sarcastically. “Yeah, whatever you say. Oh, here comes Niall.” 

Niall meandered towards them, obviously proud of his costume. He had come dressed as a hotdog. 

“Nice costume, Ni.”, said Harry. 

“Isn’t it great? I think it speaks volumes about my essence.”, he said. “My...aura.” 

He waved his hands in zigzag motions. 

“What exactly are you trying to do?”, asked Louis. 

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m scattering my fabulous vibes around the room so everyone can share them.” 

Harry narrowed his eyes. “I really don’t think it works like that, but A for effort?” 

Niall laughed. “Thanks. So where’s Zayn?” 

Louis pointed to where Zayn had been just a moment ago, but he was nowhere to be seen. 

“Well, he _was_ right there. I guess he went somewhere with Liam.” 

Niall’s eyes widened. “Liam Payne? Hasn’t Zayn been obsessed with him for months?” 

Harry nodded. “Correct. And honestly, if they don’t end up together, I don’t believe in love.” 

Louis playfully elbowed Harry in the side. “Hey! I’m right here!” 

Niall made a gagging sound. “Ugh, you guys are gross. I’m gonna go see if I can find anything of interest happening.” 

He turned back around after taking a step and whispered to them, “Be careful about the chaperones. They just yelled at me for dancing too close to a girl.” 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Really? They’re using the ‘leave room for Jesus’ routine?” 

Niall nodded. “Just warning you.”, he said. “Now if you’ll excuse me...” 

He turned on his heel and sauntered off with a cheerful bounce in his step. 

Louis and Harry watched him leave. Louis leaned against Harry. “That costume makes him look extremely wide, don’t you think?” 

Harry giggled. “Maybe it’s just all the calories catching up to him.” 

“He’s a bottomless pit, I swear!”, exclaimed Louis. “So do you think Zayn succeeded with his quest?” 

Harry nodded. “Knowing Zayn, he’s already got him wrapped around his finger. Poor Liam.” 

Louis shook his head. “Doesn’t even know what he’s getting himself into.” 

Harry laughed. “I think you’re forgetting that Liam has an extremely chaotic personality. If anything, I feel bad for Zayn.” 

“Are you friends with him? I’ve never even had a conversation with the guy.” 

Harry nodded. “I’ve known him forever. Our mums used to make us play little league football together.” 

Louis raised his eyebrows. “I just realized that in all the time I’ve known you, I’ve never once see you play football.” 

“And you never will. Not willingly, at least.” 

Louis laughed. “We’ll see about that, Curly. Anyway, I’m kinda bored. Want to get away from the crowd?”, he asked, taking Harry’s hand in his. 

Harry smiled. “You read my mind. Off we go, Fate. Lead me to my destiny!”, he exclaimed dramatically.

Louis rolled his eyes. “God, you’re ridiculous.”, he groaned as he pulled Harry away by the hem of the top of the toga. “But you’re also hot, so I guess you’re excused.”

Harry cheered triumphantly. 

“For now.”, Louis added, smiling mischievously.

They snuck back behind the bleachers of the gym, careful not to let anyone see them. 

They sat down, leaning against the wall. 

“Lou, I’ve just decided something.”, Harry stated. 

“What is it?”

Harry smiled. “I’m the luckiest guy on Earth.”

Louis laughed. “Well I could’ve told you that. And by the way, there’s no such thing as luck.”

“Right...the Coincidence character must be getting to me.”, Harry said, shrugging. 

“Although...”, said Louis. “One could argue that we have been extremely blessed by the fates of the universe.”

Harry scoffed. “Since when are you so philosophical?”

Louis shrugged. “I’m evolving, Harold. Always improving. Do you-“

He stopped suddenly, staring into the black void in front of them. 

“Lou? What’s wrong?”

Louis looked at Harry out of the corner of his eye. “Do you hear that?”

Harry shook his head. “Um...what exactly are you hearing?”

Suddenly a look of revelation came over his face. “Oh my god, I hear it too. Is that...?”

Louis nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.” 

Louis crawled forward, motioning for Harry to follow him. They quietly moved toward the sound, which Louis had now confirmed was definitely the sound of a make out session. 

“Zayn, you don’t know how long I’ve waited for this.”, murmured a soft, passionate voice. 

Louis and Harry froze. Oh. My. God.

Harry covered his face, trying not to burst out laughing. Louis slapped his shoulder, trying to shush him. He peaked around the corner to see Zayn wrapped in Liam’s arms. 

Harry leaned close to Louis’ ear. “How did they get back here so fast? It’s been like two minutes!”, he whispered.

Louis snickered. “Come on. We should let them have some privacy. Let them enjoy their fast-paced night of ecstasy.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Seriously, there must be something in the punch, because all of a sudden you’re sounding uncharacteristically intelligent.”

“Hey! I’m always smart!”, whined Louis. 

“You’re street smart. I’ll give you that.”

“Alright that’s it!”, exclaimed Louis as he lunged forward, tackling Harry. “Take it back!”

Harry shocked his head. “Nope. Now kiss me you fool!”

Louis smiled and leaned in to kiss Harry. He loved the way Harry’s lips felt. He was convinced Harry used some sort of specially formulated lip scrub when he wasn’t watching, because he didn’t think anyone could feel this good naturally. 

He nimbly climbed on top of Harry’s lap, loving the way Harry unintentionally laughed. 

He started to slip one of his hands under the collar of Harry’s costume when-

“Hey! What’s going on back here?”, yelled an unfamiliar voice. 

Shit. Louis scrambled off of Harry, smoothing both his hair and Harry’s in an attempt to look inconspicuous. 

But the chaperone had already seen them. “Tomlinson! Styles! My office, now!”, he barked. 

Louis sighed and slowly got to his feet. It wasn’t until they had started walking that he realized they were about to stumble upon Zayn and Liam. 

“WHAT THE HELL, THERE ARE MORE OF YOU?!”, roared the chaperone. 

Harry quietly laughed behind Louis. “At least we’re not alone?”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Being alone was the whole point of this excursion, but whatever.”

Harry nudged him with his elbow. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine!”

“I’m not scared of getting in trouble; I’m pissed that our almost sexy-time was interrupted.”

Harry laughed. “The night is still young.”, he said with a mysterious tone. 

“Stop it, don’t get my hopes up.”, scolded Louis. “I guarantee they’re going to call our parents. We’ll be lucky if they ever let us hang out again.”

“And if we’re not lucky?”, asked Harry. 

“Say goodbye to our sex life.”

“Please”, scoffed Harry. “We barely even have one!” 

“While that may be true, my statement is also true. Bye bye sexy time! Your mum’s gonna be livid.”, laughed Louis. “But don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

Harry sighed. “She’d plow through you faster than Niall devours lunch every day.”

Louis laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But hey, it could be worse. At least we still had every article of clothing on.”

***

**Present day**

Louis tore his gaze from Harry’s, knowing without a doubt that he had just had the same flashback.

“Alright, everyone. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, something unexpected has come up. For that reason, I regret to inform you all that the party is canceled.”, he stated. 

Disappointed grumbles erupted around the room. 

“You heard me! Everybody clear out! Go do something else; the night is still young!”

Everyone started reluctantly filing out the door, giving Louis dirty looks. Not that he blamed them. After all, he had just ruined a perfectly good party. 

He scanned the thinning crowd and located Niall, Zayn, and Liam attempting to blend in and sneak out the door. 

“Not the three of you!”, he yelled, picking right up where he left off. “Get back here!”, he ordered. 

Niall grimaced and walked towards Louis and Harry, avoiding eye contact. Zayn and Liam followed close behind. 

Louis stared at them silently as they waited for the last of the guests to leave. When the door closed, he took a deep breath. 

“Now. How about you tell us what the hell you were thinking?”, he asked calmly, which was somehow scarier than his ear splitting rage. 

Zayn was the first to speak up. “We wanted you two to work some things out.”

Harry scoffed. “And you thought the best way to do that was to make us so drunk, we forgot what year it was?”

Liam nodded guiltily. “Well, kind of. We knew you both needed a little push in the right direction.”

“Yeah, because drunk out of your mind is a great mental state to be in.”, Louis snapped. 

“Well it worked, didn’t it?”, asked Niall. 

Louis rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t call a thirty minute mindless make out session a push in the right direction.”

Zayn rolled his eyes. “No, idiot.”, he said, pointing to Louis’ hand. 

Louis glanced down at his hand, which he hadn’t realized was still clutching Harry’s. He swiftly dropped it and stepped forward. 

“That doesn’t mean anything!”, he protested. “What does mean something is you forcing us into something we didn’t want to do.”

Liam looked down at his feet guiltily. “You know, they say drunk words are sober thoughts.”

“Not helping!”, exclaimed Harry. 

Louis nodded. “Agreed.”

Zayn drifted over to the recliner and sat down gracefully. He gestured to the couch. “Let’s talk about it. I think we all need to talk. About a lot of things. Talking is healthy.”

Louis scoffed. “Stop saying ‘talk’. And seriously? You’re inviting me to have a seat in my own house?”

Nevertheless, he heavily dropped down onto the couch. He sighed when Liam pushed Harry down on the spot next to him. He scooted to the very edge of the couch, as far away from Harry as possible.

***

Harry shifted uncomfortably as he sat down. He noticed the way Louis cringed away from him. 

“Alright, down to business.”, said Zayn. “Harry, how do you feel right now?”

“What do you mean?”, Harry scoffed. “Is this an attempt at couple’s therapy?”

Louis snickered but quickly stopped, pasting on a stoic facial expression. 

“Yes, Harry, in a way it is. This constant fight going on between the two of you has been going on for far too long.”, Liam said. “I mean really, two years? Are you trying to see who can hold a grudge the longest?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “You wanna know how I feel right now? How I really feel?”

Zayn, Liam, and Niall all nodded, eyes wide in anticipation. Louis sighed and closed his eyes tightly. 

“I feel betrayed!”, exclaimed Harry, jumping up from his seat. “You manipulated us and expect us to thank you? What kind of person does that?!”

Niall groaned and stood up, following Harry’s lead. “Alright. Was it a stupid plan? Yes. But was it necessary? Also yes. I don’t think the two of you realize how sad it makes the rest of us that we can hardly ever be together anymore.”

Liam nodded. “Yeah! And in case you don’t recall, neither of you ever told us the reason for your falling out.”

“Exactly. Harry came back and the next Monday at school, you avoided each other like the plague. No explanation whatsoever.”, said Zayn. 

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe we didn’t _want_ to talk about it?”, Louis snapped. 

Harry nodded. “Some things are better left unsaid. We don’t have to tell you guys every aspect of our existences.”

“But you used to. That’s what worried us so much at first.”, Liam explained. “Obviously you’re both doing fine on your own, but anyone with one working eye could see that you miss each other.”

Zayn and Niall nodded in agreement. 

Harry let out an exasperated sigh and shifted his weight from side to side. “You know what? I can’t do this today. It’s been a hell of a long day and I probably should’ve left a long time ago.”

“Wait!”, Niall argued. “I think talking about everything could really help both of you.”

“Nope.”, said Harry, grabbing his coat. 

Louis sat brooding silently on the couch, making no move to stop him. 

“I’ll see you all on Monday, and you should be thankful I’m granting you the mercy of forgetting tonight ever happened.”, said Harry as he gripped the doorknob. 

“Honestly, this was—“

Harry’s eyes had drifted to the window, where a view of the porch could be seen. Illuminated by lamplight, the sight of it stopped Harry in his tracks.

“H? Are you okay?”, Liam asked nervously. 

Harry ignored him. “Louis?”, he asked, voice hoarse. 

“What is it?”, Louis asked. 

“I think...I think you should see this.”, Harry whispered tremulously. 

Louis rolled his eyes and slowly made his way to the window, where Harry was now standing rooted to the floor. 

“It’s literally just the street. What could possibly-“

He stopped and gazed up at Harry, mouth agape. 

Harry met his gaze. His lip trembled and eyes burned as he tried to keep his tears at bay. 

Sitting on the porch was a small, crumpled paper airplane. It was partially stuck under a large plant, struggling against the wind. It waved feebly at them. Haunting them. Resurfacing a multitude of repressed memories. 

Louis laughed harshly. “The fucking paper airplane. It follows us everywhere.”

Harry nodded, not taking his eyes from Louis’. “We’re going to have to tell them, aren’t we?”


End file.
